Venus and Jupiter This Morning, August 28, 2012

August 28, 2012 — Jeffrey L. Hunt

From the eastern predawn skies, Morning Stars Venus and Jupiter gleam in a clear sky in this 30-second image made at 4:30 a.m. CDT from the Chicago area. Brilliant planet Venus is among the stars of Gemini nearing Pollux, one of the twins. Venus is moving rapidly eastward compared to the stars nearing its closest appearance with Pollux this weekend when they are 9 degrees apart. That’s about the size of your fist when you extend your arm.

Betelgeuse, a bright star in Orion, is visible to the upper right of Venus. The rest of Orion is outside the frame.